Act against erring Forest Department officials for removing solar lights along Himani Chamunda temple track: BJP

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Palampur, January 14

Trilok Kapoor, senior BJP leader and general secretary state BJP unit, today demanded action against the erring officials of the Forest Department, including Conservator of Forest Dharamsala, for removing 100 solar lights installed on way to ancient Himani Chamunda temple. He said it was an illegal action of the Forest Department which had hurt the sentiments of lakhs of devotees who worship the Himani Chamunda.

Addressing media persons here this morning, Kapoor regretted that Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu had not uttered even a single word despite the fact that people were on road lodging their protest.

He said the government should immediately suspend senior officers of the Forest Department who issued orders for the dismantling of the solar lights without studying the letter of the Union Government and taking the stakeholders into confidence. He said it was true that the lights were installed on the forest land but there were hundreds of such temples in the state which were situated on the forest land. Lights were also installed on the forest lands. Pedestrian paths were also constructed on the forest land.

He stated that if the government failed to reinstall these lights soon BJP would launch an agitation all over the state.

He said the Himani Chamunda is a 500-year-old temple of Goddess Durga situated at a height of 12,000 feet above the sea level in the Dhauladhar range. It is considered original Chamunda Devi temple and is worshipped by thousands of pilgrims from all over India covering a difficult tract of 12 km in high hills of Dhauladhar.